The Three Rivers Film Festival opened last night and your faithful correspondent was there, at the Concept Art Gallery in Edgewood, sipping the wine, nibbling the warm artichoke heart dip and having a great time mingling with film buffs who had filed in to have a little fun before heading off to Regent Square Theatre next door to see Tamas, actor David Conrad's paean to his former prep school teacher, Tamas Szilagyi, a transplanted Hungarian who escaped the his homeland after the failed 1956 revolution, or My Tale of Two Cities, a documentary from another Pittsburgh native, Carl Kurlander, at the Melwood Screening Room.

In Conrad's documentary, which he kicked off with a brief talk, eighty-year-old Szilagyi returns to Budapest to see his hometown one last time, with Conrad at his side to prompt recollections of the revolution and Szilagyi's youth. It was a sweet and interesting story, lovingly crafted, and I think the self-deprecating Conrad has a future as a filmmaker in front of him.

I was personally gratified to meet Conrad before the screening, as he's an actor I've admired since seeing his Septimus Hodge in my favorite play, Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, twelve years ago at Pittsburgh Public Theatre. Since then Conrad has gone on to star in "Relativity," "Roswell," and "Miss Match" on TV as well as the films, Men of Honor, Return to Paradise, and The Wedding Crashers, among others. For the last three years he's starred as Jim on "The Ghost Whisperer." And he was quite funny in pointing out that everyone attending his documentary last night was missing the death of his character on TV.

I used to think anyone playing Septimus Hodge would be great, since Stoppard is such a witty, creative writer--a genius from my point of view--and Hodge, the ideal romantic lead. Then, after seeing three different productions of Arcadia in the last ten years with Hodges so painful to watch I thought I might have to leave the theatre, I realized how truly exceptional Conrad had been in that role.

If you've never seen Arcadia, do it. It's the funniest, smartest play I ever seen and extraordinarily romantic.

So it was great to finally get to thank Conrad for his performance. The only thing that would have been better--and, yes, I'll come clean, I do have a crush on him--is if he had waltzed me off in a slow circle, as Hodge does with Thomasina, Arcadia's ingenue heroine, near the end of the play. But I suppose that those sorts of things only happen in romance novels : )

In any case, I was happy to be a part of the Three Rivers Film Festival. It's a great event, a Pittsburgh tradition and the place to be for anyone who cares about film. Find out more at http://3rff.com/.

Gwyn
www.cready.com

Denis Foundation supporters attend the Three Rivers Film Festival Perimeter Party

Great party tonight at Molly Brannigans. More than a hundred of us were there for the Three Rivers Film Festival's perimeter party, a way to build awareness and excitement about the upcoming event. To be honest, I've never attended the Three Rivers Film Festival before, thought I am absolutely the kind of person who should have. I love film. I love documentaries. I love parties. I love being the coolest person in the room. And I love things that celebrate Pittsburgh.





We ("We" being Mt. Lebanon) were very lucky to have struck up a partnership with the great people at the Three Rivers Film Festival, something for which I must thank TRFF advisory board member, former Mt. Lebanonite, and all-round great person, Dawn Kosanovich.



The TRFF crew, led by Executive Director Andrew Swenson, set up screens at Molly Brannigan's showing clips from the movies in the festival, and Andrew gave a brief talk about why we should consider attending. There were drinks and appetizers and an information/gift bag for everyone who attended. In addition, the Denis Foundation had folks selling prints of the Denis and taking names for those who wanted to be on the mailing list.

TRFF only did three of these events--one in Edgewood, where the Regent Square Theatre is, one in Cleveland, who have their own film festival in March every year, and one in Mt. Lebanon.




This year for the first time, there will be a VIP kick-off party for festival. It's coupled with the premiere of Pittsburgh native David Conrad's documentary about Tamas Szilagyi, his teacher at Kiski School, whom he followed back to Szilagyi's native Hungary. A labor of love, the film, Tamas, ought to be great. I happen to be have fallen in love with David Conrad as an actor a little over ten years ago when I saw him at Pittsburgh Public Theatre in Tom Stoppard's incomparable Arcadia. I have high hopes I'll get to say hello to David at the party, which runs from 5:30 to 7:30 on November 7 at the Concept Art Gallery in Edgewood, followed by the film at 7:30 at the Regent Square Theatre next door.

Please consider attending the film festival. It's a great way to support cinema in Pittsburgh, and, who knows, the folks you meet there may be traipsing over to the Denis to help support our theatre when the restoration is complete. Find out more at
http://www.3rff.com/3rff_08/special_events.html.



Speaking of the Regent Square Theater, my husband, daughter and I hit Breakfast at Tiffany's there on Sunday night. Believe it or not, none of us had ever seen it before. Audrey Hephburn is wonderful to watch--and the clothes! Sigh. It was a pleasure to sit with my family, eating freshly popped popcorn and drinking hot tea and watching a classic film, something I hope we'll be able to do in Mt. Lebanon very soon.

Pittsburgh 250

It was my joy on Saturday to take my daughter and her friend to the fireworks celebrating Pittsburgh's 250th birthday downtown. There were thousands and thousands of people there--we did not dare venture into Point State Park--and, for the first time in my memory, the lower level of the Fort Pitt Bridge was closed to traffic and open to pedestrians, and the streets near the downtown Hilton, while not technically closed to cars, were filled with so many watchers that cars couldn't get through. It was exciting and a little weird, with so many rules overturned. I overheard two different people in the crowd mention the movie, "Cloverfield."

The fireworks were magnificent. I heard differing reports: that they were the largest fireworks display ever in the region, that they the largest fireworks display ever in North America. All I can tell you is they were the largest fireworks display I have ever seen. With fireworks exploding over the Mon, in front of the Point and over the Allegheny, it was a panorama of fireworks, thrilling for a fan like me, and, if that weren't enough, there were fireworks exploding from the top of several buildings downtown as well.

Best of all, we just hopped on the T at the Mt. Lebanon station and zipped both in and out of downtown. Ah, what a joy for Mt. Lebanon that we have such a convenience. That, like the Denis, is one of the jewels of our town.

The 3 Rivers Film Fesitval's South Hills Preview Party

You're Invited!

The Denis Theatre Foundation and Pittsburgh Filmmakers invite you to attend a special South Hills Preview Party celebrating the 27th Annual 3 Rivers Film Festival.

When:
October 29, Wednesday
From 7 - 9pm

Where:
Molly Brannigan's
660 Washington Road
Mt. Lebanon, PA 15228

RSVP to www.denistheatre.org/FilmmakersEvent

Free Admission * Cash Bar * Giveaways
Special Thanks to Molly Brannigan's for providing
complimentary hors d'oeuvres for all attendees


Three Rivers Film Festival

Clips from the Festival films will be shown to celebrate the renaissance of the Denis, the Pittsburgh Filmmakers organization and independent film in the Pittsburgh area. Admission is free, and there will be complimentary appetizers and a cash bar.

Denis Theatre Foundation Announcements!

Highlights:

* The foundation receives its 501(c)(3) tax exempt status...
* A theater cleanup day is scheduled for October 11th...
* The Foundation and Pittsburgh Filmmakers to host an event on October 29th...

Look in your e-mailbox for a newsletter in the near future, but in the meantime check out these hot Denis Theatre news flashes!


Theater Cleanup - October 11, 2008

Volunteers are needed on Saturday, October 11 to haul old theater materials, furnishings and debris to dumpsters in preparation for construction. There will be three shifts: 9-11 a.m., 1-3 p.m. and 3-5 p.m.. This work is dirty and can be heavy, so please wear old clothes and sturdy shoes. We will provide work gloves and any necessary tools. No experience is needed.

In order to accommodate all of the volunteers, we do require that you SIGN UP for this opportunity, and only sign up for one shift. Thanks for your understanding!

Sign up to volunteer at http://www.denistheatre.org/Volunteer/Cleanup

Tax-Exempt Status

The Denis Theatre Foundation has been granted official 501(c)(3) tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. This means that all donations are completely exempt from Federal income taxes - retroactive to the date that we were incorporated in December of 2007. This important step will provide momentum and encouragement to donate to this fantastic community effort.

This also means that we now qualify for matching gift programs offered by many employers. Talk to your employer to see if they offer this option. It will make your donation to The Denis Theatre Foundation work twice as hard!

Metacritic.com: helps prevent walk outs

Hey Gwyn! I with you on "Burn After Reading." It was one of the best films I've seen in a while! As for "The Women" and your story about having to walk out - I highly recommend metacritic.com, a website that gives you a composite score from a number of movies reviewers, critics from a variety of newspapers, magazines, and yes, even Rotten Tomatoes. I'm a numbers geek so I'm into this kinda stuff, whereas my wife would rather just go and take her chances. Metacritic isn't perfect because, let's face it, some critics just don't appreciate a good comedy like Burn After Reading. BAR only got a composite score of 62, which falls under the category "generally favorable reviews." The scoring system is usually good at telling you which movies, how should I say it, just suck. "The Women" got a score of 27, which is pretty freaking low.

Another cool thing about the site is that it lists the scores and reviews of the limited release / independent films that never seem to make it to the Pittsburgh market. We're hoping to change that when the Denis reopens!

Two Very Different Movies

Omigod, I haven't walked out of a movie since The Deer Hunter in high school (I have no stomach for violence), but I had to walk out The Women tonight. It made me sad. I love Meg Ryan, miss those bubbly, romantic movies of hers in the 80s and 90s. Watching the movie was such an odd experience--and don't even get me started on the TWENTY minutes of commercials I had to sit through at the Galleria before the movie began. Commercials! What happened to previews? Anyway, Meg looked great. She has such a luminescence on screen. But the script was DREADFUL. Absolutely horrible. I guess it's based on the movie of the same name from 1939, and it sure felt that way, with situations and reactions that just don't make sense in today's world. Ugh. We came home and watched Tivo, which is always filled with things we love.

But...

Last week's movie was quite entertaining. We saw Burn After Reading, the latest Coen Brothers movie. It's a very absurd, comic turn on spying. Classic Coen Brothers. The ending was so funny, the audience burst into a spontaneous round of applause when the credits rolled. I can't remember ever being at comedy and having that happen. I know my co-blogger enjoyed the movie as well (which he saw from the vantage point of the upgraded seats at the Waterfront--I wonder if he had to see through twenty minutes of commercials including the seriously awful Axl Rose music video for the National Guard), so I hope he'll chime in, too.

Scary Movie

A neighbor of mine who wishes to remain anonymous shares a memory of a night at the Denis:

"There is not much I remember about that night at the Denis Theater. Other than the fact that I went to see a movie that I was assured was very scary. I cannot remember the day, I cannot remember the name of the movie, but I do remember the Denis Theater.

"I love a scary movie. In my mind, there is nothing better than sitting in a dark theater, scrunched down in your seat, eating popcorn, and being scared out of your wits. I grew up watching scary movies. You name, it monsters, horror, suspense. My mother loved scary movies, but she didn’t like watching them alone. From a young age, she would let me stay up late so we could watch scary movies together. One could say I was baptized in blood and gore, which in and of itself would have been a scary movie.

"But, back to the Denis Theater. There I sat, in the Denis, watching what really was not a scary movie. Despite claims of the movie being groundbreaking, based on a true story, terrifying…, it was not. It was, in my mind, boring. Although, I did stay through the end credits. When I got up, I realized I was alone in the theater, getting up to leave as a few late night patrons crept in. Should I warn them, tell them to sneak into another movie? No, maybe they would enjoy the movie.

"I left the Denis headed for the short walk home. That is the thing about a neighborhood theater, you can walk home. You can meet your friends there and then go for dessert afterwards. But, tonight, for some reason, I was alone…, and it was dark, and the wind was blowing just so that I felt the brief harbinger of fall upon my shoulders.

"A ten minute walk, after a not so scary movie, on a pleasant late summer evening. I began the quick walk home, straight down Cedar, regretting that I had not gone to see a different movie, disappointed that it had not been a scary movie at all. Without my ever present headphones, I listened to the cicadas and crickets, and footsteps? Did I hear footsteps? I looked over my shoulder, but no one was there. I shrugged it off. Simply an auditory hallucination or my own footsteps echoing off of the apartment building, and well, I was almost home, and the movie was not scary at all.

"Turning on to Baywood, not a person around. No joggers, no dog walkers, nobody. Just me, but if it was just me, why did I feel like someone was following me. This time, instead of a quick glance over my shoulder, I spun around, but there was not a soul around me.

"There is a spot on Baywood, if you live in Mt. Lebanon and walk, you will know the spot I mean. This one spot, near the intersection of Baywood and Mabrick, that feels at least five degrees colder than the rest of the street. Tonight, that spot is freezing. And suddenly, I start thinking that maybe that movie was scarier than I thought."

Pittsburgh Filmmakers hosting International film showcase

From the Pittsburgh Filmmakers website:

Sep 12 thru Oct 26 at Harris Theater and Regent Square Theater

Three Rivers Film Festival presents Global Lens

Ten films over eight weeks. The Global Lens Film Series is an annual, touring film program of narrative feature films from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Each film is selected for its authentic voice, strong cinematics and unique cultural perspective. Watch a trailer for the series.

A list of the different films, dates, and times can be found at the PFM's website.

The Denis Theatre Rises Again

I'm happy to welcome Teri Coyne, former Mt. Lebanonite and full-time great writer, to the Act 2 Blog. Here is her favorite memory of the Denis:

"We moved to Shady Drive East when I was less than a year old in 1961 and lived there until I was twelve in 1973. As far as an idyllic childhood location goes, you could not have picked a better place. Down the street from us was McKeen’s a small mom and pop convenience store that carried life’s necessities, the most essential for me was penny candy, tons of it.

Upstreet, as we called it, was in the other direction and included a long walk up a steep hill. For me, the crown jewel of our small town was the Denis Theatre with its big gleaming marquee extending itself onto the sidewalk and burning brightly at night, a beacon to worlds far away from Mt. Lebanon. It was like having a time machine up the street. Depending on what movies were playing, you could be transported anywhere real or imagined. My best memory of the Denis Theatre was the first time I went to the movies without my parents.

Gone With the Wind

"Looking back, I wonder now if my parents were just looking for an excuse to get my older sister and I out of the house for the afternoon or if my father was telling the truth when he said there was an important movie he and needed us to see. That movie was Gone with the Wind.

"It was the first movie my sister and I saw completely on our own. My father gave us money for admission and, a rarity in our house, he gave us extra for popcorn and candy.

"My sister and I made the trek upstreet and bought our tickets without a hitch, back then no one blinked when two girls, ages ten and nine wanted to see a three hour movie filled with battle scenes and adult themes. (We didn’t get off that easily a few years later when my parents bought us tickets to see HAIR by ourselves at the Stanley Theatre.)

"The movie was showing in theatre one which involved a ticket tear at the top of the stairs and then a walk down a sloping carpeted ramp that lead to matinee Mecca, the refreshment counter. Just saying the word refreshment made my mouth water. My sister, Tami anteed up the money for a tub of popcorn.

“With butter?” the movie concessionaire asked us. When he told us it free we told him to pour it on. We had a tense moment over junior mints or milk duds. Milk duds won after I offered to let Tami hold the popcorn (which in kid logic meant she would get a lot more than I would.) We got change so we could get the best treat of all, a grape soda from the automatic dispenser machine.

"We put two nickels in the slot and waited as paper cup dropped into the metal hands that held it. Once secured, crushed ice cascaded down and then two streams of liquid, one was the purple syrup and the other was that magical and mysterious substance that made a sweet drink bubbly. It was hard to wait for the last drop but harder still to imagine losing any of it to the perforated drip tray below. The cup swished with ice as I took my first heavenly sip.

"Armed with more food than Scarlett had when she pulled the carrot out of the ground and swore she would never go hungry again, my sister and I entered the theatre and had our pick of seats. Back then we thought sitting close was where it was at so we got as close as we could.

"I remember the feel of the air-conditioning on my back, wiping my greasy popcorn fingers on my shorts, covering my face when they cut that soldiers leg off and a peculiar feeling of longing when Rhett carries Scarlett up the stairs. I remember the sweetness of that grape soda and being awestruck when the camera pulls away from Scarlett into a long shot of her walking by hundreds of wounded soldiers. When the movie was over, my sister and I made our way to the lobby where the light was so bright it hurt your pupils. We were back home in time for dinner where the topic of discussion was our great adventure upstreet. While it was a first, it would not be the last time the Denis Theatre was a supporting player in a fond memory.

"I am happy to support the efforts of The Denis Theatre Foundation and am sure that, like the South, the Denis Theatre will rise again."

Blurb about me:Teri Coyne grew up in Mt. Lebanon and while she has lived in New York for over 30 years, she still says “Pittsburgh” whenever she is asked where she is from. She divides her time between New York City and the North Fork of Long Island. Teri is the author of the novel The Last Bridge which will be published by Random House in July of 2009. For more info visit www.tericoyne.com.

Two Weeks, Two Movies

Last week, we caught Vicky, Cristina Barcelona at Destinta. We enjoyed it. Vicky and Cristina, one a waif, drifting happily through life, and the other a more reasoned, controlling woman, who approaches the world with well-deserved skepticism, reminded me a lot of my sister Claire and me. The movie was interesting, Javier Bardem is far easier on the eyes than he was in No Country for Old Men, and Penelope Cruz is excellent.

Friday, we went to see Bottle Shock in Squirrel Hill. Amazingly, we found a parking place right across the street from the theatre. The movie has three of my favorite middle age plus actors in it -- Dennis Farina, Alan Rickman and Bill Pullman -- so I knew I'd enjoy it for that reason if nothing else.

But I liked the story as well, and, of course, the scenery around Napa Valley was outstanding. Not unlike Vicky, Cristina Barcelona, actually, where Barcelona was practically one of the characters.

From a theatre point-of-view:

Squirrel Hill -- Pros: the upscale selection. Cons: the carved up theatres.

Destinta -- Pros: not the South Hills Village theatre. Cons: creepy and cavernous.

A good week and a half, movie-wise. We'll be heading to Tropic Thunder on Wednesday.

Northern Minnesota...

Okay, it's been a couple weeks. My only excuse: I've been on vacation. First D.C. to see my son in his first job, then San Francisco for the romance writers convention, finally to northern Minnesota, land of my in-laws, where, indeed, it is actually like the movie Fargo. You betcha.

I spent a lot of time thinking about the Denis. Okay, I really didn't, but I did see two theatres that inspired me to think about it for a moment or two. First, in Fergus Falls, MN, there's a theatre with a beautiful old marquee called, what else, the Fergus. It now serves as an arts center for films, lectures and live performances. There was a play running while we were in town.

We also saw the old theatre in Fargo called, okay I know you can guess, the Fargo. This theatre is used a theatre for art films as well as first runs. The theatre went through a $2.6MM restoration in the late 1990s based on the original plans found in the archives of a Minneapolis architectural firm and includes recreated carpets, fountains and a Mighty Wurlitzer organ that rises from the stage on Saturdays for intermission music. You can read and see more here.

Anyhow, glad to be back and looking forward to seeing Vicky Christina Barcelona this weekend. Took me a long time after the Soon-Yi thing for me to even be able to think about seeing a Woody Allen movie again, but I have enjoyed the last couple.

Destinta does not equal destiny

The last time I was at the Destinta theatres in Bridgeville, we saw The Dark Knight (the film was good--Heath Ledger was excellent--but the whole thing was at least forty minutes longer than it needed to be.) It isn't that I don't like the Destinta theatres. I'm very grateful they're there and I have the choice of seeing movies in big, empty rooms far away from the throbbing mass of teenagers one finds at the South Hills Village theatres. But there are so many things at Destinta that could be better. First, the cavernous lobby and dark, labyrinthine hallways are positively creepy. I've actually got about half a screenplay mapped out in my head for a teen slasher movie that takes place in the local cineplex, and every time I'm at Destinta, I add another scene.

Second, the deserted and quite possibly never-inhabited "extra" candy counters in the darkened hallways on each side of the Destinta complex perplex me. Was the intent ever to have the more conveniently located counters open? Or are they red herrings, designed to make you think that you just missed coming on a more fun night, a night perhaps when there was dunking for apples and a carousel and a brightly lit lobby filled with happy, laughing people?

Third, the slower than molasses labyrinth folk who staff the ticket desk and candy counters drive me bonkers. It doesn't seem possible that humans could work as slowly these people do without careful training. Typical transactions go like this:

Me: (waiting while teen finishes delightful story about running into Lisa and Emma at Hot Topics and they were, like, seriously weird.)

Teen: (remembering at last he's here for a reason) Yeah. What'll it be?

Me: I'll have popcorn, no butter, and a Diet Coke.

Teen: (shuffles off aimlessly, neither in the direction of popcorn nor soda)

Me: (listening to second teen who is manning the soda machine guffaw, waiting for the auto filler to finish) I wonder if the movie's started?

Teen: (returns with a cup) Did you say Coke?

Me: Diet Coke.

Teen: Ah. (throws full cup into garbage. Gets new cup, fills it, finds popcorn tub in cabinet under the nacho lights, fills it) Did you want butter with this?

Me: No, thank you.

Teen: The butter's over there.

Me: Got it.

Teen: For another eight dollars you can get our Movie Lover's package. That includes a box of Jordan Almonds.

Me: Ah, thanks but pass.

Teen: Your call. That'll be $16.75 (or some other figure that sounds more like the price of new shoes than a snack.)

Meanwhile, 3 teens with Mohawks, 4 men in sandals with poor foot care habits, 7 screaming children and 3 couples necking have fallen into line behind me, I've misplaced the ticket stub and can't remember if I'm in theatre 14 South or 47 North, and I realize the attendant's given me Coke. The process screams for optimization.

But how nice to imagine the Denis Theatre, with a coffee shop, friendly faces, lighted common areas and a theatre full of patrons happy to be seeing a movie and supporting their community at the same time. I can't wait.

Ambler Theatre

When we think about what the Denis could be in the future, we may want to look at an example of another theatre in Pennsylvania--the Ambler Theatre in Ambler, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia.

The theatre closed in 1984 and had been abandoned for fifteen years when a group of local supporters bought it, formed a not-for-profit board and began the arduous process of planning, raising money and improving the theatre.

While maintaining the Spanish/Mediterranean character of the original theatre, the Ambler reopened in 2007 with state of the art projection and sound, two new screening rooms, a restored main theatre, a movable main screen to allow for live performances, and a new box office, concession stand and restrooms.

According to the Philadelphia Weekly: “The Ambler reveals the near-impossible: a discerningly programmed triplex housed in a classic old movie theatre.” A trip there “recalls the days when each neighborhood had a movie palace and the cinema was not only an escape but also the soul of the community.”

Better yet, according to Andrea Fuchs in her article, "Classical Revival" at www.filmjournal.com, "Glenn Felgoise, JKR Partners’ director of marketing, proudly observes that the revived Ambler Theater 'has become the economic magnet in the renewal of the town’s commercial district, and a model of success for the revitalization of Philadelphia’s older small-town suburbs… It has helped spark the revitalization of the Borough of Ambler with the opening of 35 new businesses. Community organizations and area businesses frequently use the theatre for formal meetings, social events and private parties.'"

The theatre shows art-house, first-run, classics and children's movies. General admission is $8.50, though with a $45 annual membership it falls to $4.50, and current attendance is estimated to be 70-80K annually.

While we don't know all the specifics of the Denis redevelopment, it's inspiring to think about what can be achieved when communities rally their support.

Gwyn

The Denis and First Dates

I've been asking people to send me their memories of the Denis. This one is from my friend, Todd DePastino. Todd is a historian and author of Bill Mauldin: A Life Up Front (W.W. Norton, 2008) and Citizen Hobo: How a Century of Homelessness Shaped America (University of Chicago Press, 2003). He is also a Mt. Lebanon resident. You can find out more about Todd and his work at billmauldinbiography.com.

"I don't have many memories of the Denis worthy of sharing. The theater had passed its golden age by the time I came around. But I do recall a first date that began at Bimbo's and ended at the Denis, where we had planned to see a comedy, Only When I Laugh. When we got there, the movie was sold out, so we ended up seeing Mommie Dearest, about Joan Crawford's abusive, alcohol-fueled parenting style . . . not really the best movie for a first date. But, on a happy note, I ended up marrying my date, Stephanie Ross, and we have since met each other's and our children's uses of wire hangers with tolerance and magnanimity."

Thanks, Todd. Anyone else out there who knows of a first date at the Denis that lead to such a happy outcome?

A Denis Day

I had a day full of delights relating to the Denis Theatre yesterday (see, not even open yet and already the Denis is bringing joy to Mt. Lebanonites.) As a volunteer for the Denis Theatre foundation, I am occasionally included in opportunities to help plan for the future. One of the such opportunities was yesterday at a local coffee shop. We met with the head of another Pittsburgh organization with which we may be able to synergize some efforts. The head of the organization, a man in his early forties, very smart and very funny, gave us some great advice on different things to consider. When one of our board members noted that there's such a magnetism to Mt. Lebanon, the South Hills and Pittsburgh, that folks grow up and leave but often come back, both the head of the organization and another of his team who was in attendance noted that they each had grown up in Mt. Lebanon (Crystal Drive and Austin Avenue, respectively), left and returned to Pittsburgh later once their careers were well-established.

At that point my spider sense started to prickle. Crystal Drive is in Sunset Hills, where I lived until age fifteen. I asked the man if he'd gone to Howe, as I did. He had. I didn't recognize his name so I asked him the year he graduated to see if we had been classmates. He said he didn't graduate from Mt. Lebanon, that his family moved to Edgewood before high school. "Moving to Edgewood" tickled the waaaaayyy back portion of my brain. I remembered there was a boy who moved to Edgewood, breaking my heart, when I was in fifth grade. He also happens to be the first boy I ever kissed. I dredged the memory banks and pulled it up. His name was Erik, we'll call him Erik Larsen, though I'm making up the last name. And suddenly I realized the man I'm talking to, the head of this organization, is named Larsen too!

Unable to focus on anything but my need to determine if this amazing coincidence is so much more, I interrupt the higher level strategic discussion to say, "Are you by any chance related to Erik Larsen?" The man stops, smiles and says, "Erik would be my brother, yes."

There I am, talking to Erik Larsen's younger brother! What are the odds?

Then, last night my husband and I strolled Washington Road during the always-fun First Friday event. Not only did we see a busy stream of stoppers-by at the Denis Theatre Foundation table we took an opportunity to let the Mt. Lebanon commissioner staffing the Main Street Economic Development Task Force table know that not only do I want a bookstore on Washington Road for my post-movie stroll on a Friday or Saturday, I want a cupcake shop. He had me repeat "cupcake shop" twice, partly because it was hard to hear over the din of music but partly because he wasn't used to someone expressing such detailed needs, but, hey, I always say, if you really want something, it doesn't hurt to be clear about it.

What are you looking for in your pre-Denis or post-Denis stroll?

Gwyn

We look forward to more letters like this one....

Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone?
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.
- Joni Mitchell, Big Yellow Taxi, 1970

When I first heard that song, the one thing that immediately came to mind was the movie theater in my old home town. Like most western Pennsylvania towns back then, it has its own movie house. The last movie I remember seeing there was Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.” That was in 1963. Then the bank next door bought the building, tore it down and put up a parking lot.

I moved with my very young family to Mt. Lebanon in 1982 and was pleased to see a business district and the Denis. Like most long time residents of Mt. Lebanon, my kids and I have fond memories of the Denis and we are thrilled to see that it is going to have a new life.

The Denis seemed a permanent fixture and in many ways we all took it for granted. Then, of course, “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone!” Most of us have great memories; some more than others. But what seems to be lacking is a lot of the hard evidence, the more concrete documentation that adds to, and sometimes even corrects our own memories. Most, if not all of the artifacts or memorabilia from the actual building are long gone. Local historical societies have anecdotal evidence and a few photos and articles; we have been not able to find much. Some facts are known, some are good educated guesses and some things are based just on memories. Eventually, we will weave all of this together into a comprehensive story—with the help of everyone in our community. There is a treasure trove out there somewhere and with our collective effort we will unearth it.

But the task at hand right now is to let you know what we know for sure. This will be just a part of the story. This is the part of the story at the very beginning, the very first day the Denis opened its doors.

On June 1, 1938, the Harris-Denis, as it was then known, opened its doors for the first time. Mt. Lebanon movie goers that day were treated to a one day run of the movie “Mad About Music,” starring Deanna Durbin. The image of the theater marquee on the Denis Foundation website is from this day. June 2 and 3 saw the screening of “Tom Sawyer”. “In Old Chicago” played on June 4 and 6. “Girl of the Golden West,” starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy was next up on June 7 and 8. The second week of June, 1938 featured W.C. Fields in “Big Broadcast” on June 9 and 10. The rest of the summer of 1938 was filled with great movies like Shirley Temple in “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm”; “Merrily We Live” starring Constance Bennet and Brian Aherne; “Test Pilot” with Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Myrna Lot; “Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife” with Gary Cooper and Claudette Colbert; “Doctor Rhythm” starring Bing Crosby, and “Marco Polo” starring Gary Cooper.

The summer 1938 theater patrons not only had first class movies to watch, but they were also treated to what was then the very latest in air conditioning. It was billed as the most modern system in the entire Pittsburgh area. The system was manufactured by Carrier and installed by the Dravo Corporation. It was designed to move 20,000 cubic feet of air per minute and would keep the auditorium, balcony, foyer and lobby at a cool 68 to 72 degrees even if the outside temperature reached as high as 95 degrees.

But there were even more modern marvels to be experienced. The new movie projectors, made by Simplex, were designed to reduce flicker and film motion. This reduced eye strain and made for a more comfortable viewing experience. The sound system, made by RCA Victor, was the same one used in Radio City Music Hall. This sophisticated sound system was located behind the movie screen and sound waves penetrated through tiny perforations in the screen and would flow out uniformly to all areas of the theater. It was noted that previous sound systems were not adequate for the newer movie technologies. Competing local theaters with older systems could produce sound as low as 1000 cycles and as high as 6000 cycles. The new Denis-Harris sound system could produce sounds as low as 60 cycles and as high as 10,000 cycles.

On May 17, 2008, the Denis Theatre Foundation held a cleanup of the current building. In the midst of all of the turmoil, one gentleman walked in the front door and chatted with some of the volunteers. He mentioned that he was in the theater on that very first night. We did not hear the story or connect the dots until later on. He mentioned that he was headed down to Florida and would return at a later date. But he was there in the Denis on that very first night—June 1, 1938. He was one of the first to see the grand sweep of the main auditorium and stage, the large balcony and the luxurious foyer and lobby. He got to sit in that cool air conditioning and was treated to a state-of- the-art visual and audio experience. The other old photos on the Denis Foundation website show us what he would have seen that night. We would love to hear from him to help complete the picture of the very first days of the Denis. Help us weave together the story of the first days. The work on the rest will follow and by the time we are all back in our comfy theater seats in the new air conditioning with the new state-of-the-art digital video and audio systems, we will have a clearer picture of the rich history of our beloved Denis Theatre. We will all have written the history and just maybe we will all have made some too.


David Rutherford
July 9, 2008

Facts in this article are from the Pittsburgh Press, May 29, 1938

A brief history of the Denis Theatre

Special thanks to Mr. Ed Blank for allowing me to repost this entry of his from cinematreasures.org:

The Denis opened as a Harris theater in 1937 in Mt. Lebanon Township, a suburb southwest of Pittsburgh. It played third run (second neighborhood run) commercial films after they had played Downtown and after, in a 50-50 ratio, one of nearby Dormont's two theaters, the Hollywood and the South Hills. (The latter appears in Cinema Treasures as Cinema 4 in Dormont.

The initial Denis capacity reportedly was, as Dave-Bronx notes, 1,152, part of which was in a balcony I never knew to be used. Occasionally, thanks to the vagaries of booking, the Denis played a major second-run film before the Dormont theaters. Examples included "Porgy and Bess," "Sons and Lovers" and "Experiment in Terror."

Associated Theatres, which had taken over the Denis and many other Pittsburgh area theaters, had been having great success as the district's leading purveyor of art films. In order to have a South Hills area outlet for art films that could "daydate" (play concurrently) with their popular 374-seat Forum Theatre in Squirrel Hill, Associated Theatres reconstructed part of the Denis property to put its new Encore (or Denis Encore) auditorium on what had been an upstairs lobby - long unused - that had led to the main theater's balcony.

The Denis charged regular neighborhood prices for the third-run commercial films in its larger main-floor theater and higher first-run prices for the art films shown upstairs in the 274-seat Encore. The Encore opened in the summer of 1965 and joined the Forum in presenting a spy spoof called "Agent 8 3/4," which had been known in England as "Hot Enough for June."

The film did not do well, but "Casanova '70" quickly became the first joint Forum/Encore hit, followed soon by "A Patch of Blue," which lasted 16 weeks, and "To Sir, With Love," which hung in for 19 rounds.

All records then were broken during the 25-week run of "The Graduate." When the two theaters played the same film, the Forum consistently did better than the Encore by taking in 60-70 percent of the earnings. But because the Denis had a second, larger auditorium on site, it could trump the Forum's numbers occasionally by moving "The Graduate" down to the main Denis at art house prices and letting the other audience, for a third-run movie such as "Wait Until Dark," pay the lower price to watch it in the tonier Encore auditorium.

Eventually the original Denis Theatre was subdivided two ways. The main-floor auditorium was divided down the middle into a pair of 280-seat spaces. The former balcony was piggybacked in a sense. The front of the balcony was sealed off and converted into a projection booth for the two main-floor auditoriums. The back half became an oddly wide, shallow space with few rows. No. 4 was difficult to access by a back stairwell that immediately made it an unpopular climb.

Denis 4, as the odd new 120-seater was called, drew complaints. Many folks, upon reaching the box office and learning their movie of choice was in No. 4, left the premises. Dissatisfaction with the space was so pronounced that when Cinema World took over, it shut down auditorium No. 4 and used only the main three.

Under different managements, the main three auditoriums were numbered differently. Sometimes the former Encore was called Denis 1, and sometimes it was Denis 3 because it was third in size (by then listed as having 240 seats).

CineMagic took over, reopened the fourth auditorium and concentrated more and more on art films (generally moveovers from the Squirrel Hill and Manor in Squirrel Hill). But the overall Denis continued to deteriorate, with some films shown out of frame and out of focus by employees who complained of poor equipment.

The upscale audience that supports art films became increasingly discontented with the condition of the Denis. A few movies did do well, including the first run of "Fahrenheit 9/11" and the locally made sleeper "The Bread, My Sweet." But attendance worsened steadily until the Denis closed Sept. 12, 2004, with "We Don't Live Here Any More," "The Door in the Floor," "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" and "Maria Full of Grace."

Community Glue

Apart from schools, there are few things that bind a town together like a local movie theatre. Restaurants come and go. A library comes close but the number of readers, small to begin with, is ever dwindling. Places of worship are certainly a central gathering place, but you go to yours and I go to mine. Where else can one sit in a room that has held one's parents, one's children, one's neighbors and one's younger self, not to mention one's best friend, one's teachers and one's ex-boyfriend with the girl who works at the drug store who isn't half as pretty as she thinks she is?

Beyond the oddly-satisfying mental archeology it inspires, however, a movie theatre spins a never-ending cloth of shared cultural history. You saw The Sound of Music. You know sixteen going on seventeen can be a tumultuous time for a teenager. You saw Flashdance. You know Chef Brockett was the gravely-voiced mill supervisor who didn't think for one minute that string of numbers was Jennifer Beales's phone number. You saw A Wedding for Bella (and if you didn't, you should: it includes scenes of Mt. Lebanon.) You know that kneading biscotti can be a transcendent experience.

All of them played at the Denis Theatre.

A town needs a movie theater, and the Denis Theater has been both the temple and the word for Mt. Lebanon natives since 1938. I know it has been for me. I grew up in Mt. Lebanon, left for Chicago to attend to college and grad school and to fall in love and get married, but like many of you I came back, and one of the things I cherished about the town to which I had recommitted myself was its theatre.

One of my favorite stories about the Denis is from 1997. My husband and I, at that point married fourteen years, approached the ticket counter where a wide-eyed teen was holding down the fort. Saving Private Ryan and Shakespeare in Love were ending their runs in theatres. The former had entranced my husband and, the latter, me. I am a diehard Tom Stoppard fan. He has a rapturous wit, an awe-inspiring ability to play with words and an intellect that would be intimidating were it not so open and generous, and Shakespeare in Love touched me on many levels. I also liked and admired Saving Private Ryan, but, let's face it, it's a boy movie, and, as I had to watch much of it through slitted fingers, one viewing satisfied my requirements.





We had seen our beloved movies together and separately several times. We were lucky enough that night to have both playing at the Denis and decided we would each see our favorite one more time.

Hand-in-hand, we approached the counter, and my husband said, "One for Saving Private Ryan and one for Shakespeare in Love." The teenager was aghast. "You've got to be joking." The idea of a couple splitting up for movie night was beyond his imagination.

We still laugh about that.

Chris Schultz, the other owner of this blog, and I want to create a forum where people can find out news about the Denis Theatre restoration, discover ways to help and share recollections about the theatre's past and hopes for its future.

Not every post is going to be about the Denis. I'd love for us to talk about green options for construction, films we love and uptown Mt. Lebanon in general (like when are we going to get a bookstore, huh? And a cupcake shop? I wanna be able to walk out of a movie at 9:30 at night on a Friday or Saturday, stroll to a bookstore and end the evening with a cupcake, just like I can in Squirrel Hill.) And since this only works well if you join us in this effort, I'm going to throw out the first salvo. Shakespeare in Love knocked Saving Private Ryan out for the Oscar for Best Picture of 1997. The win astonished some critics, who felt Saving Private Ryan was a shoo-in. With eleven years' hindsight to inform us, was the Oscar for Shakespeare in Love a mistake? I think you can guess where I stand on the issue. Chris?